Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Potato Towers

This year I chose to plant them in a tower. Supposedly (this is my first try... I'll have to let you know how it does after the harvest) the tower yields more potatoes in a smaller grow space.

The idea is, because potatoes grow off of a vine, if you stabilize the vine to grow vertically, you'll have potatoes filling the tower.

There are several different ideas on how to make the tower yield more.

I thought I would share some videos that I have found, and used for inspiration.

There are so many more videos/ideas for growing potatoes online.
Here is an example of what my parents have created...

This is how my mom & dad did their tower:
Raised Potato Bed -
1) Screw 4 pallets together, making a square bed.
2) Line the inside and bottom with landscape fabric.
3) Mix hydrated lime and potting soil together, and pour in bottom of bed.
4) Place potato eyes on top of dirt/lime mixture. 5) Cover the eyes with a thin layer of potting soil 6) As the potato vines grow, add soil, leaving about 2" of stem and vine exposed.
7) After the bin has been filled completely, and the vines are growing
out the top, unscrew the pallets, and your bin should be filled with
potatoes. 8) A small amount of fertilizer (organic or otherwise) should be added to the soil, to increase production

So, they are starting with only one layer of seed potatoes, and are going to train the vine as it grows up, rather than layering seed potatoes (like I did).

I can't wait to see the results!

This is something that anyone can do, really. If you have a lawn, create one like above. If you live with only a patio or balcony, use a barrel, so that you don't damage the concrete below. There are so many options....

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